First of all, I want to give a little shout out to my
wonderful Cohort. We may not have chosen each other, but I believe we were
chosen for each other. Each and every one of these wonderful ladies and
gentlemen have been a shoulder to lean on, cry on, and review on. I do not
believe that I would have made it this first half of the semester without their
kind, helpful, and compassionate hearts.
Thank you, guys!
Thank you, guys!
Now, let me tell you about my *wonderful*
(*cough*sarcasm*cough*) experience with my first ever nursing exam. I had
studied for the Health Assessment exam for around a week. I was as prepared as
prepared could be! I was going in confident that I would pass this with flying
colors! The day before the exam, I packed up my bags, made lunch, and laid out
my scrubs. For those who do not know, I am a commuter student this year. I live
about 45 minutes away without traffic. It actually tends to take me about an hour
to get to school on Wednesday mornings due to rush hour. I wanted to get to
school at 7:30 AM, because my class started at 8 AM. That way I would have
plenty of time to relax, orient myself, and study a bit. I left at 6:30 AM. A
whole hour and a half before my class!!! I even checked Google Maps to see how
traffic was. It said “Estimated time of arrival: 7:28 AM.” Yes! Perfect, right?
No.
I turned off my data and threw my phone on the passenger seat, and was on my way. I was so deep in thought, reciting the acronym "ADOPIE" in my head over and over again. I did not notice my surroundings until I was three exits away on the freeway and at a complete standstill. After ten minutes of sitting in the same spot, I grabbed my phone and looked at Google Maps. The robotic voice blurted out, "Traffic is worse than usual." No, duh! "Crash ahead. Estimated time of arrival: 8:30 AM."
WHAT?!?!
I left an hour and a half early, but I was still due to arrive thirty minutes after the exam started?! In a panic, I text my Cohort letting them know the situation. They were all very supportive, telling me to just focus on driving and that it would be okay no matter what. Suddenly, I became the Fast and Furious. I put the car in reverse to get as close to the car behind me as possible, and then squeezed in front of the car in the lane next to mine. Sorry. I cut probably five people off in my journey to get to the nearest exit. Once on the street, I drove what felt like 30 mph over the speed limit, diving in and out of each lane to get past those going to slow for me. I was finally four blocks away, ten minutes before the test began. That was when I heard the blaring of a horn that made my heart drop. In front of me, the railroad crossing lights were flashing and a long train began to come through. I was really tempted to just punch the gas and go through it. All I could think to myself was: This cannot be happening!
Luckily, the train stopped four cars in and then began to back up. The railroad crossing arms lifted and then we were allowed to cross. I had six minutes until the test started. Unfortunately, my designated parking lot was on the opposite side of campus from the building my classroom was located in. That was a fifteen minute walk in itself. So, I decided to risk it and ask if I could park in the guest parking lot, which was right next to the building I needed to be in. When I pulled up to the security guard, I was already bawling my eyes out. "Can I please park here?" I asked, "I promise it is a one time thing. I am late for my first exam!"
At GCU, it is hit and miss with the security guards. Some are very nice, but others are straight up rude. "No." I was taken aback. "I'm sorry, but I cannot give you a parking pass. You can risk parking there and getting a ticket, but I am not in charge of parking passes."
"Fine." I growled and sped in to the parking lot. I had to go to the third floor, because it was a huge tour day. I grabbed my pencil and paper, ditching my backpack, which turned out to be a huge mistake (I will get to that soon). Then, I bolted down the three flights of stairs. As I was passing the security guard station, I noticed the same security guard I talked to handing out parking passes like candy. I rolled my eyes, but was too busy getting in the zone to get upset. Three minutes until the test.
My heart was pounding. I noticed three girls staring me down as I ran past them with purples scrubs and a red-streaked face. I made it into the large, middle courtyard space of the horseshoe-shaped building. I ran straight through the grass, not caring about the yellow tape around it or the fact that I was staining my brand new, white shoes. Two minutes. I finally made it to the base of the stairs.... My classroom was on the fourth floor... One set of stairs, turn, second set. I made it to the first floor. Three set, turn, four. Second floor. My lungs were burning. Five set, turn, Six. I bumped in to somebody on the turn to the next set of stairs. "Sorry," I wheezed. My vision was going a bit blurry. Seven, turn, eight. I was finally there. I wanted to pull a Rocky and throw my arms up in celebration, but I soon remembered that I was on a mission. I checked my watch, one minute until the test. I busted through the doors to the hallway. Thank God my class was the first door on the left. I not-so-gracefully plunged through the door. All eyes turned to me and it took everything in me to not scream, "I made it!". I grabbed my pencil out of my scrub pocket and scribbled my name on the sign-in sheet. Then, collapsed into the first chair I saw. I was hyperventilating with my head between my legs. I peeked around at my worried classmates. I was seeing double, and they were glowing. I could see them asking if I was alright, but all I heard was a ringing in my ears. I have asthma, and, unfortunately, I left my inhaler in my backpack when I bolted over to the classroom.
Luckily, my professor wanted to do a review session before taking the test. I got myself to calm down after about twenty minutes of deep breathing. Somehow, I ended up getting a 92% on the exam, which was so worth the running (I hate running).
After I was done with the exam, I laughed about the whole thing. "The things I do for nursing school," I whispered to myself.
---
So there you have it. That was my stressful morning: thinking I was going to get a 0% on my first ever nursing school exam. I thought I was going to probably fail school all because of the traffic. It was honestly a miracle from God that I made it exactly on time. Sorry for not posting for a while. It has been a crazy past couple of weeks. Comments, questions, or suggestions? Let me know in the comments! 💜
I turned off my data and threw my phone on the passenger seat, and was on my way. I was so deep in thought, reciting the acronym "ADOPIE" in my head over and over again. I did not notice my surroundings until I was three exits away on the freeway and at a complete standstill. After ten minutes of sitting in the same spot, I grabbed my phone and looked at Google Maps. The robotic voice blurted out, "Traffic is worse than usual." No, duh! "Crash ahead. Estimated time of arrival: 8:30 AM."
WHAT?!?!
I left an hour and a half early, but I was still due to arrive thirty minutes after the exam started?! In a panic, I text my Cohort letting them know the situation. They were all very supportive, telling me to just focus on driving and that it would be okay no matter what. Suddenly, I became the Fast and Furious. I put the car in reverse to get as close to the car behind me as possible, and then squeezed in front of the car in the lane next to mine. Sorry. I cut probably five people off in my journey to get to the nearest exit. Once on the street, I drove what felt like 30 mph over the speed limit, diving in and out of each lane to get past those going to slow for me. I was finally four blocks away, ten minutes before the test began. That was when I heard the blaring of a horn that made my heart drop. In front of me, the railroad crossing lights were flashing and a long train began to come through. I was really tempted to just punch the gas and go through it. All I could think to myself was: This cannot be happening!
Luckily, the train stopped four cars in and then began to back up. The railroad crossing arms lifted and then we were allowed to cross. I had six minutes until the test started. Unfortunately, my designated parking lot was on the opposite side of campus from the building my classroom was located in. That was a fifteen minute walk in itself. So, I decided to risk it and ask if I could park in the guest parking lot, which was right next to the building I needed to be in. When I pulled up to the security guard, I was already bawling my eyes out. "Can I please park here?" I asked, "I promise it is a one time thing. I am late for my first exam!"
At GCU, it is hit and miss with the security guards. Some are very nice, but others are straight up rude. "No." I was taken aback. "I'm sorry, but I cannot give you a parking pass. You can risk parking there and getting a ticket, but I am not in charge of parking passes."
"Fine." I growled and sped in to the parking lot. I had to go to the third floor, because it was a huge tour day. I grabbed my pencil and paper, ditching my backpack, which turned out to be a huge mistake (I will get to that soon). Then, I bolted down the three flights of stairs. As I was passing the security guard station, I noticed the same security guard I talked to handing out parking passes like candy. I rolled my eyes, but was too busy getting in the zone to get upset. Three minutes until the test.
My heart was pounding. I noticed three girls staring me down as I ran past them with purples scrubs and a red-streaked face. I made it into the large, middle courtyard space of the horseshoe-shaped building. I ran straight through the grass, not caring about the yellow tape around it or the fact that I was staining my brand new, white shoes. Two minutes. I finally made it to the base of the stairs.... My classroom was on the fourth floor... One set of stairs, turn, second set. I made it to the first floor. Three set, turn, four. Second floor. My lungs were burning. Five set, turn, Six. I bumped in to somebody on the turn to the next set of stairs. "Sorry," I wheezed. My vision was going a bit blurry. Seven, turn, eight. I was finally there. I wanted to pull a Rocky and throw my arms up in celebration, but I soon remembered that I was on a mission. I checked my watch, one minute until the test. I busted through the doors to the hallway. Thank God my class was the first door on the left. I not-so-gracefully plunged through the door. All eyes turned to me and it took everything in me to not scream, "I made it!". I grabbed my pencil out of my scrub pocket and scribbled my name on the sign-in sheet. Then, collapsed into the first chair I saw. I was hyperventilating with my head between my legs. I peeked around at my worried classmates. I was seeing double, and they were glowing. I could see them asking if I was alright, but all I heard was a ringing in my ears. I have asthma, and, unfortunately, I left my inhaler in my backpack when I bolted over to the classroom.
Luckily, my professor wanted to do a review session before taking the test. I got myself to calm down after about twenty minutes of deep breathing. Somehow, I ended up getting a 92% on the exam, which was so worth the running (I hate running).
After I was done with the exam, I laughed about the whole thing. "The things I do for nursing school," I whispered to myself.
---
So there you have it. That was my stressful morning: thinking I was going to get a 0% on my first ever nursing school exam. I thought I was going to probably fail school all because of the traffic. It was honestly a miracle from God that I made it exactly on time. Sorry for not posting for a while. It has been a crazy past couple of weeks. Comments, questions, or suggestions? Let me know in the comments! 💜
No comments:
Post a Comment